Kaitlin Noel Photography| Cape May Professional Photographer

Dear Kaitlin,

I have been struggling to get my name out there ever since I moved. I am so frustrated that I am not booking at the rate I use book before the move and I feel as though I have tried everything. In a few weeks my towns convention center is hosting a bridal show and I was wondering if that would be a good place to start? Have you ever done them? Did they work?

Thank you so much for the advice…you rock.

Sincerely,

Desperately in Need of Exposure

Dear Desperately in Need of Exposure-

First of all, hats off to you! It is not easy to start your business, build a fan base and then have to start from scratch after you had a good thing going! So major kudos to you for keeping one, keeping on. : )

Second of all….before we get into the bridal show aspect of the question, I have a few “to-do’s” for you if you haven’t already done them.

1. NETWORK TIME! Look up a few photographers in your area and reach out to them. Tell them you are new to the area, what you specialize in and offer to take them out to coffee. Creatives…which is what we are…always blossom and succeed when surrounded by other creatives. If they do meet up with you, ask them if there are any photo walks, photography groups that meet in person or have a group online. Ask if they would ever like to go out shooting for “fun” one day, set up a styled shoot together, or even exchange head shots. Making friends with photographers in your surrounding area is going to get your foot in the door more than any other types of marketing you have tried right now. I promise that.
2. Cold “Visits”! Put a few flyers, brochures, pamphlets, and business cards together and stop by some local wedding vendors in your area, you could have a look into websites such as Printivity or others to create your own flyers or business cards, the benefit of creating them with an online printing company is that the promotional material will be of professional quality more often than not. (If you are not a wedding photographer, drop them by some schools, daycares, maternity wards, libraries, etc.) Introduce yourself, your craft and tell them that you are new to the area. Some facilities will be overjoyed to welcome you and meet new talent. You will come across a few places that won’t be as welcoming…but that’s ok. Move on to the next. As well as flyers and brochures, you may wish to look into promotional signs from somewhere like supercheapsigns.com to let people know about you. Some people don’t believe in these old fashioned methods, but I have seen them work!
3. SET UP 3 promo/stylized shoots for FREE! Put out a casting call in your area…this can be done on bulletin board at a grocery store, at a library, or even a local arts school. If you have become friendly with a new neighbor, made a new friend in a book club and they fit the role…offer them a gift certificate to come back and see you in the future…or offer a few images on a DVD for their personal use.

If you have done these three things already or are in the process of doing them, you are so far ahead of those that move to a new area and expect clients to just fall in their laps. You have to work twice as hard all over again…I KNOW that one factor can be the stone that breaks the back…feeling as though you justttt did that….but if you want it bad enough…if you want to be in this field bad enough…you will do just about anything to succeed. Am I right?

Ok….so on to bridal shows. YES! I have done one….then I did a booth at a craft show…EPIC FAIL. After hundred of dollars spent on “one time use” displays, extra cards and post cards…6 hours on my feet both days…3-4 hours of set up and take down, even offering FREE wedding day coverage to one lucky winner…STILL AN EPIC FAIL. I never booked ONE wedding…one engagement session, one family session from any show I have ever done. (I have pictures of it…still working on finding them so bare with me..but here is one from the family craft show)

Why? Because the people that the shows attract are NOT my clients. Bridal shows are amazing and FILLED with amazing vendors. A lot of these vendors make a LOT of money in return from them….even other photographers I know….but they are just not for me. I stood there passing out flyers and business cards in the middle of the aisle the way people on the streets of New York City force things into your hands and faces. I would direct them to my booth, give a 30 second schpeel about me and my business over and over again. I felt like a human yak-bak. (Please tell me yall remember what those are? If not I toooootallly just aged myself)

Anyways…I was HUSTLING people…forcing them to listen to me….SELLING myself short and cheap by only giving a 30-second speech on why I am better than the photographer 2 rows over. It felt wrong. I felt wrong. It was all just wrong!

My type of client finds me. They are mostly sent via word of mouth from past clients or loyal fans of mine. Again…all derived mainly through Facebook. Everyday I am given a platform to show who I am, what kind of work I produce, and not be forcing my business on anyone. My client wants me. There aren’t nickel and dimers, they aren’t people who don’t care about pictures and just need a photographer because that’s what your supposed to do. My clients get as excited over pictures as I do over taking them. My clients want an entire experience. They want to build a relationship with me and not be treated like “bride # 48 of 50”. I know my brides, their families. We are personal friends and for me…THAT’S the business I want to run. Not one that attracts clients for the wrong reason.

To be fair, I think its important to note I have only been to a select few shows but they are all run the same way. Brides are given bag after bag of papers, magazines, coupons. There is a gown/formal wear show, there are set up and interactive photo booths….a bridal show is a fairground for the newlyengaged. Girls that go are either there as a right of passage with her ladies in waiting/mom trying to get an idea of whats out there. Then…there are the brides that are there to WIN anything and everything for free. They want the bargain, the deal, the extra coupons, the most budget friendly option out there. For me….I know that the latter is not a client that would want or get as much out of what I offer as I do. I LOOOOVE when my clients send me their “Save the Dates,” call me on Christmas, send me handwritten thank you notes with countdowns, invite me to fittings, rehearsals and to stay for a cordial after the wedding has ended. While brides are in the market for theirrrr photographer, I am in the market for myyyy client. When we find each other…that’s when magic happens on all fronts.

Does that make sense?

So, desperately seeking exposure….my advice is always try something once and if you don’t like it, don’t do it again. So if bridal shows worked for you before, you just may find a niche for them where you live now. If where you live now offers a very different clientele and market then before…maybe a new business strategy is in order. A new approach if you will. You will never know unless you try….but if you decide against trying for your business reasons…that’s 100% ok….just find something else that you think will speak to your market : )

I know this is such a hard question to answer because its so different for everyone. But to sum it all up love, DO WHAT YOU FEEL IS BEST FOR YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS. Think long term. Think about your ideal clients. Respect the new market you are in. Be prepared to work hard and then work harder. If you fail, THAT’S OK….that means that route wasn’t meant to be. Try again. As long as you are all in it to win it…business will come to you or I have full faith that you wont quit until it does!

WISHING YOU LOTS OF EXPOSURE AND SUCCESS…

XOXO,

Kaitlin Noel